overpraise
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
Etymology
Origin of overpraise
1350–1400; Middle English overpreisen (v.); see over-, praise
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Even last year,, external Chappell, rarely one to overpraise English batting, grouped Crawley with Root and Harry Brook as England's key Ashes batters.
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2025
The blowback from that tweet was such that Netflix has altered its methods a little, now opting for slightly ironic overpraise over outright sniffiness.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 10, 2019
So let us not overpraise ourselves for being enlightened.
From Seattle Times ● May 3, 2017
Elsewhere she writes, in a similar vein, about reviewing, words every critic should tattoo on his or her knuckles: “To overpraise is a subtle form of disrespect — and everybody knows it.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2017
There is no danger in this world that the leader of an unpopular cause ever will die of overpraise, for, in America as in Jerusalem, the prophets of God have always been received with stones.
From The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony (Volume 2 of 2) Including Public Addresses, Her Own Letters and Many From Her Contemporaries During Fifty Years by Ida Husted Harper
Maybe even 20 years, so as to weed out the overpraised clunkers, elevate the overlooked gems and ensure that the winners truly stand the test of time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2023
Woe unto the poet who is overpraised in his lifetime.
From New York Times ● Aug. 12, 2022
It has caused wrinkled critical noses here and there, and I am apparently in a minority in preferring it to his bafflingly overpraised previous film The Big Short.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 4, 2019
But this kind of overpraised minimalism, or “essentialism,” to use Doyle’s preferred term, is a scarecrow version of a heart-on-its-sleeve show whose sweeping, full-throated impulses are all amplitude.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 2, 2018
The Yorks had a pleasantly comfortable home life, and Ronnie, overloved and overpraised by his parents and a worshipful younger sister, was the adored center of it.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
“To act like it’s the first great foldable in ages is just overpraising Apple,” said the 35-year-old Fresno, Calif., stay-at-home dad, “because everyone else is doing it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Yet there is a risk of overpraising her merits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
I learned my lesson after overpraising one of your stories and having you protest that I always loved everything you did.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 30, 2021
And psychologist Carol Dweck has gotten a lot of attention for her research that shows overpraising children can undermine their confidence.
From Time ● Oct. 1, 2013
With Aunty Uju, they hovered and groveled, curtseying deeply as they greeted her, overpraising her handbag and shoes.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
